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For immediate release
December 16, 2009
Contact:
Anne Guarnera
(202) 503-1397
aguarnera@hispanicfund.org
Student Applications Now Open for 2010 New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium
High School Students Encouraged to Apply to Four-Day College Empowerment Program
Albuquerque, NM (December 16, 2009) - The Hispanic College Fund, New Mexico MESA, and the University of New Mexico announced today that student applications for the 2010 New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium are now available on www.hispanicyouth.org. High school students from any area of the state are encouraged to apply to the program, which is focused on empowering youth for success in college, career and community service. The program will take place from June 15-18, 2010 on the Albuquerque campus of the University of New Mexico. It requires only a $10 commitment from students; all other expenses, including transportation, lodging and food, are covered. Approximately 100 students will be selected to attend.
“Students who have attended the Hispanic Youth Symposium in the past know that this is a life-changing event,” said Andrew Gonzalez, Director of the Hispanic Youth Symposium, Western States. “Students come to HYS, and they feel discouraged about their future - they may not even know anybody who has went to college. But after four days, they leave confident that they can pursue higher education and then, they go and do it.”
During the Hispanic Youth Symposium, students will have the opportunity to connect with Hispanic mentors, attend workshops on college admissions and financial aid, compete for $10,500 in available scholarship funds, and meet with college admissions officers from local schools.
“In a state where so many of the jobs require a college education, it is now more important than ever to empower underrepresented minorities to go to college and become professionals,” said Toney Begay, executive director of New Mexico MESA. “This is especially true in the face increasing global competition.”
This is the fourth year that the symposium will take place in New Mexico. Founded in 2004, the Hispanic Youth Symposium currently serves six cities and nearly 1,000 students annually across the United States.
”This program not only enriches our New Mexico community, but it is something that strengthens the future of our country,” said Mike DeWitte, senior manager at Sandia National Laboratories, who serves as chair of the Symposium’s corporate advisory board. “In New Mexico, our minority students compose the majority of the student population and they represent the workforce of the future. With this program, we hope to mold them into the successful engineers, doctors, scientists, and educators that they have the potential to become.”
Following the conclusion of the symposium, students will be enrolled in the year-round programming of the Hispanic Youth Institute, which is designed to increase their college knowledge and help them maintain progress towards academic and professional success.
Sponsors and community partners of the New Mexico HYS include: Southwest Airlines, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and University of Phoenix Foundation
To learn more about the New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium, please visit: http://www.hispanicyouth.org/symposium-new-mexico.
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About the Hispanic College Fund
Founded in 1993, the Hispanic College Fund is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., with a mission to develop the next generation of Hispanic professionals. For 15 years, the Hispanic College Fund has provided educational, scholarship, and mentoring programs to students throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, establishing a career pipeline of talented and career-driven Hispanics who are trained in the fields of business, science, technology, engineering, and math.
The Hispanic College Fund has an annual budget of $6 million with 20 full-time employees. In 2006, the Hispanic College Fund received the Brillante award for “Nonprofit of the Year” from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and in 2007 was recognized by USA Today as one of the nation’s top 25 charities. The organization has twice received Charity Navigator’s top four-star rating for fiscal responsibility in non-profit management.
Web site: www.hispanicfund.org
New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement (NM MESA) Inc. is a non-profit organization that promotes educational enrichment for middle and high school students from historically under-represented ethnic groups. NM MESA, in partnership with schools and universities, prepares these pre-college students for college and careers in mathematics, engineering, science and related fields.
Web site: www.nmmesa.org
The University of New Mexico is the state’s largest university, serving more than 34,000 students. UNM is home to the state’s only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico’s only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.
Web site: www.unm.edu
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